


to set a caged bird free

by dourhorsing (notapieceofcake)



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: ((no cheating)), Abusive Relationships, Artist Morgana (Merlin), Artist and Muse, F/M, Forbidden Love, Gwaine hates the husband, Housekeeper Gwaine (Merlin), Modern AU, More tags to be added, OC Husband - Freeform, Other, Politician Husband, Self Image, Unhappy marriage, body image issues, morgwaine - Freeform, slow burn?, unhappy Morgana (Merlin)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:28:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28741779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notapieceofcake/pseuds/dourhorsing
Summary: like you can't judge a book by its cover, you can't fathom someone's circumstances just from what you see from the outside.beautiful, principled, and talented morgana pendragon, now morgana kargil, is in a loveless marriage to a powerful politician. on the outside, she's the luckiest person, but indoors her life is a different thing.then there's also her new housekeeper who lacks the professionalism that comes with experience and keeps toeing the line. but more than that, he shows kindness and compassion to the young mistress, which has been lacking in her life for quite a while now.will morgana finally find happiness with her husband? or was the marriage doomed from the start?
Relationships: Gwaine/Morgana (Merlin), Morgana (Merlin)/Original Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	to set a caged bird free

“I really wish you’d do one thing right! But apparently that’s too much to as for… How disappointing.”

 _You’re the one who messed it up. I wasn’t even the one the questions were aimed at!_ Morgana swallowed the reply she wanted to fire back and it felt like acid in her throat. There was no need to rile him up further. With any luck, he’d be done with her in a few moments anyway.

“Hmph. At least you know to keep silent.”

As he started to turn away, Morgana let her shoulders drop. She did not want to be in his presence anymore and by the looks of it neither did he hers. Keeping her features carefully schooled, she turned and started heading out, wanting nothing more than to rest.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he said sharply.

Morgana rolled her eyes before slowly turning to face her husband again. “I’m going to my room. Didn’t know I had to ask to even do that,” she barely managed to not snap back at him, but the bitterness crept into the last of her words anyway.

His mouth tightened, at the edges, but other than that he didn’t much bristle. Shane stalked towards her, displeasure written all over his face. Just as he got within arm’s reach, a loud ringing disturbed the silence.

While Morgana’s felt relief flood through her, Shane continued to glower as he pulled out his phone.

“What is it?” He spoke through gritted teeth, disdainful eyes never leaving her. She couldn’t make out what the voice on the other end said, but it only resulted in Shane looking angrier. “Right now?,” now he looked lethal. “I’ll be there,” he responded a few moments later, but his tone made it clear someone would pay for that inconvenience.

His gaze returned to Morgana just as the call ended, his mood suddenly shifting from the initial murderous one. “Now, where were we?” he pretended to ponder, voice deceptively light as he stepped into her personal space. “Ah, yes,” he gripped her face from under the chin, his touch hard and unrelenting. “As I was about to say, my beautiful wife, you seem to have swollen up. Getting lazy are we?”

Feeling embarrassment flush her cheeks, she glared at the offending hand before slapping it away. “Who are you to call me lazy? You know very well I deal with all your affairs and business while you’re away.”

Instead of looking remorseful, he rolled his eyes. “Yes, as you must. After all, it is I who provides for you.” The smirk is gone from his face the next moment as he looms over her, “You know the elections are coming up and we’ll have all sorts of meetings and engagements to attend. Do not embarrass me.”

At this point, Morgana could breathe and it would embarrass her _dear_ husband. But she chose to keep that sentiment to herself and instead sneered at him, waiting for him to finish his spiel so she could finally go rest. “Is that all, dear husband?”

Shane raised an eyebrow and looked down his nose at her. “I’m leaving for a meeting in Laor right now and won’t be back till tomorrow. And you know we have public appearances starting tomorrow evening. I suggest you fast till then- I don’t want you looking bloated in your dresses.”

It couldn’t be… She’d been eating healthier for the past two weeks because of that… Despite herself, Morgana found her gaze flitting down to asses herself at his words. She was still studying herself when Shane leaned forward and kissed her head before heading off. She saw his retreating back and wanted to wipe the kiss away- he’d been smiling.

_xxx_

Showered and finally in the privacy of her room, Morgana settled into bed with her notebook. No point in forcing herself to sleep if it was hours away. Instead, she relaxed her mind through idle sketches of whatever suited her fancy, a therapeutic ritual of sorts which she had found helped her sleep better. She was so engrossed in her latest sketch, a dress she vaguely remembered from a dream, that the knock at her door startled her.

“Morgana, are you awake?”

It was Alex, their hired help who was also housed in their penthouse so Morgana would always have someone around.

Morgana tried to calm her racing heart and took a moment to reply. “Come in Alex.”

The young girl peered around the door before stepping in, a bright smile on her face. “I see you’re all ready for bed!”

Alex was a tiny thing, skinny and blond, and looked a bit younger than her age. Her bubbly personality usually helped cheer Morgana up when she needed it, but sometimes it drained the elder woman since she found her privacy being constantly disturbed by the well-meaning girl.

“Yes, Alex, I was just about to turn in,” she said kindly, feeling guilty for the flash of annoyance at having been startled like that. “Is anything the matter?”

“It’s nothing big! I just wanted to let you know that the housekeeper quit, and today was her last day. So, the new housekeeper will start from tomorrow morning.”

Morgana felt a twinge of uneasiness at that. She wasn’t particularly social, despite her status demanding it, and found having to constantly be surrounded by people exhausting. Almira, their previous housekeeper, was good. She’d been great at her job, and easy to get along with. Morgana had gotten used to the lovely woman and her warm presence. She feared the process would start over again with the new housekeeper.

It was just hard sometimes to think how life went about. Just as you got used to, or even attached to someone, circumstances would pull them away.

“I see. Thank you for helping find someone to fill Almira’s spot so quickly, Alex. And thank you for giving me a heads up,” she offered the young girl another smile.

“Oh, it was my job, Morgana!” she blushed prettily and waved the comment off before turning to go. “Sleep well,” she left, shutting the door quietly behind her,.

“Good night,” Morgana replied softly.

**Author's Note:**

> just a headsup i suck at geography and remembering names so any places mentioned will most likely be made up.
> 
> alsoooo! i might add different tags as the story progresses, also, the warning/ratings might change
> 
> i'd love feedback on this story, and hopefully will manage to finish this soon 
> 
> xoxo


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